It Started With a Letter
by Jessica12357
Summary: My family has to move to Kauai, and I finally get to meet my pen pal, Lilo. But soon I discover her big secret, and my world changes.
1. The Bad News

Hello, everyone. It's me, Jessica12357. I noticed an error a lot of my older stories have are concerned with the dialogue not being on seperate lines, so I am on a mission to change it. This chapter has been revised by yours truly. Thank you.

Note: I do not own Lilo and Stitch or anything associated with it.

It was just an average, ordinary day for me...until the mail came.

I rarely get anything in the mail except for Christmas/birthday cards or reminders from my dentist for when my next appointment is. But this time was different. I got a real, stamped letter from my Hawaiian pen-pal, Lilo. At school we were assigned to write to a student in a different state than ours. I somehow ended up with Hawaii, and the student I got was Lilo Pelekai.

What was unusual was that Lilo didn't go to a public or private school; she went to a DANCE school. Not only that, Lilo is only seven years old. There's a pretty big difference between our age, so I was surprised it counted.

But as we wrote back and forth via letter thousands of miles away from each other, I soon began to learn how interesting of a person Lilo was. On a sad note, her parents died in a car crash a year or two ago. Aside from that, Lilo sounds like a very fun person. She loves Elvis, horror and sci-fi films, and is a strong free diver. Until I looked it up, I had no idea what the heck free diving was, yet it sounded like a tremendous undertaking for her age.

I was particularly fascinated by her family. Due to the unfortunate death of her parents, she lives with her older sister, Nani, along with her Aunt Pleakley, Uncle Jumba, and her dog named Stitch. When she sent in photos of them, I was very surprised by Stitch's appearance.

In all my life, I had NEVER seen a dog with blue fur or eyes as big as his. He reminded me of a Chihuahua dipped in a vat of blueberry jam. Don't get me wrong, though; he was cute! As for her aunt and uncle, I think Aunt Pleakley has some kind of allergy or something. One of her eyes is swelled up so big she looks like a cyclops. I hope she and Uncle Jumba help fill in the parental gap in Lilo's life alongside Nani.

Where was I again? Oh yeah. I got a reply letter from Lilo from our latest pen pal exchange. We both said how great it would be to meet each other one day. Little did I know how close that dream would come true...

...

Dinner that night was hashbrown casserole and macaroni & cheese, which are, in my opinion, two of the greatest foods in the universe. As I ate, I could tell by the looks on my parents' faces something bad had happened.

"What is it?" I asked.

They glanced at each other before my mother spoke up, "Jess, there's something we need to tell you about."

"I kind of figured that," I replied. I put down my fork and listened in anticipation.

Dad said, "The people at work have been talking, and some changes have been made."

I groaned unhappily. "Oh no. Did they fire you?" Due to these tough economic times, people get laid off a lot where my dad works.

But to my surprise, he answered, "No, it's not that." There was a slight pause. The suspense was killing."

"But what is it?"

Mom sighed, "We have to move." It was the painful reality that stabs into our mundane lives in the blink of an eye.

"WHAT?" I cried.

"I'm sorry, honey," Dad said, "but if I'm gonna keep this job, we'll have to do it."

"W-where is it?" I asked. My parents exchanged another glance.

They answered simultaneously, "Kauai."

I couldn't believe it. "In HAWAII?" I almost shouted. This could not be happening. It shouldn't have been happening..but it was. It didn't feel right; we'd be moving out thousands of miles west to live in a place. Not visit, but _live. _I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I don't want to leave my family and friends behind in order to live there! Even though my parents assured me they wouldn't do it if it wasn't absolutely necessary, but it didn't ameliorate my feelings any further.

That night I had a hard time falling asleep. The idea of having to break the news of the move to my friends made my stomach churn and my heart fill with guilt and worry. When I did eventually fall asleep, I dreamt about lying on the Hawaiian beach next to...Lilo? I was wondering how my pen pal got mixed into the equation, when a thought struck me.

Sitting up in bed, I fished into the top drawer of my nightstand and pulled out my book light. I grabbed the most recent letter Lilo had sent me that day off of my dresser and shone the light on the address. My worry and angst suddenly changed to joy; the island we were moving to was the exact same one Lilo lived on!

_Maybe this move won't be so bad after all, _I thought. I was extremely unaware, however, that when I did meet her, we'd be doing a LOT more than playing in the sand.


	2. Landing in Kauai

This chapter has been revised to solve the dialogue on different lines problem. Thank you!

I was gripping the handles of the plane seat so hard I thought my fingers would go through the upholstery. I have a TERRIBLE fear of heights, so being in an airplane is like sitting front row seat at a horror film. Luckily I have a strong stomach because the airplane food and the thought of my friends back at home were not helping it at all. I thought, _It'll all be over with soon, and you'll get to meet Lilo, _and I prayed hard in between. Not that my parents liked heights, either, but at least they were able to conceal it. It's one of those special powers only parents have.

"Are we there yet?" I asked my mom sitting next to me. Since there were only two seats per row on each side of the plane, my dad had to sit in the seat behind us. He was mad because the man next to him kept snoring the whole trip. But anyways, back to our conversation.

"Honey, it will take hours before we reach it," she answered, looking up from her Sunday lesson. Mom taught Sunday school at our Baptist church, so I guess she was reviewing nostalgia from the days. I knew she would've said that, so I gripped the seats again until my knuckles turned white as snow. "Try doing something to entertain you," she suggested. Like it's easy to entertain yourself when you're travelling thousands of feet in the air, thousands of miles from your home, over thousands of miles of ocean. 1000 was starting to be my least favorite number at that time. But instead I reached into my carry-on and pulled out a notebook, pencil, and Lilo's letters. Just then a baby way in the back started crying. I grimaced. It seemed that every time we went somewhere, like a restaurant, church, school concert, or whatever, there was always, ALWAYS one baby who decides to start bawling.

Don't get me wrong; I know he/she can't help it, but that doesn't mean I like it any better. I have sensitive ears. Anyways, I sketched in my notebook some, and later they handed out headphones for the in-flight movie. Luckily, it was _Casablanca, _one of my favorite films. (I just LOVE old movies.) After the movie was over, I took a nap. The next thing I knew, my mother was shaking me. "Jessica! Jessica! Wake up!"

"What? Are we evacuating?" I cried nervously. My mother just smiled.

"No, silly. We're here!" You didn't have to tell me twice to lug my suitcase out of the carousel. For a Hawaiian airport, it was surprisingly cool. Air-conditioning, I bet. There were dozens of people there, and I was afraid we'd all be separated any second. We moved through the crowds of people like the Israelites crossing the Red Sea towards the exit. Mom spritzed some sunscreen on the three of us before heading out the door.

Gee, I'm glad we weren't wearing long sleeves. Not surprisingly it was HOT. Hotter than any summer back home, anyways. I'm sure it was 90 degrees just in the shade. Before any sightseeing was completed, we piled into a taxi and rode to a local neighborhood called Coconut Court (which made me think of the book _Hoot). _It might sound like a fancy subdivision, but it was just a small cul-de-sac with simple wooden two-stories.

The moving truck followed promptly behind us, and as they lugged in our stuff through the door, I whispered to Dad, "They haven't broken anything, have they?"

As soon as they were out of the room, he whispered back, "If they did, I'm not paying for it!" I had to grin. Typical Dad. I searched the house for Mom, and I found her practically drooling over the granite countertop island, a kitchen fixture she's wanted forever.

"Enjoying yourself?" I joked.

"I love it!" she said.

I pulled Lilo's letters out of my pocket and asked, "When can I meet up with my pen pal?" Mom gave a worried look.

"Are you sure it will be safe?" she asked.

"Mom. She's only SEVEN," I said. "She lives on the island right here! We've written to each other for the past few weeks, and we know a lot about each other." Mom was silent for a moment, and I added, "I _am _a teenager. Besides, this place looks safe, so I can take care of myself." Mom thought in silence some more, and just when I was about to leave in defeat, she spoke.

"Do you know the address?" I held up the letters containing Lilo's address.

"Will you call as soon as you get there?" I nodded, and shoved my cell phone into my jeans pocket.

"Can you wait until they finish packing?" I nodded even more, and Mom finally said, "Then you can go."

"YES! Thank you!" I exclaimed, embracing her in a bear hug. To speed the packing process, I helped some of the movers carry the furniture into the right rooms. I even helped carry in my own mattress. Eventually, the furniture was all in the right place. I said goodbye to Mom and Dad really quickly before heading outside. The hot Kauai sun put me in a positive mood. I looked at the address on Lilo's letters: 56 Kaleakahana Drive. "All I have to do is..."

I stopped. A huge wave of stupidity overthrew me; I just now realized a major detail my mother and I both overlooked: I had no idea how to get to Kaleakahana Drive. "How could I be so stupid?" I grumbled. A kicked a pebble. My common sense returned momentarily, and I decided to ask a local. I did so, and they pointed me in the right direction. As I walked down Kaleakahana Drive, I noticed the numbers on the houses.

34, 36, 38...I assumed I was close. But when I went by 54, I passed a path, then ended up at 58! "How is that possible?" I asked myself. There was no house between 54 and 58; just a simple path. Suddenly I got a brainstorm. "I should go up the path!"

I trekked hopefully up the dirt path, which lead into some thick vegetation. A minute later I saw a house up ahead. It was mostly made of bluish wood, with a red roof. I noted a large dome sticking out of the roof. Underneath the house a green jeep was parked and a high-tech looking red buggy. _If this is Lilo's house, it's awesome! _I thought. I dashed up the porch stairs to the front door and rang the doorbell. Brief scurrying could be heard inside, followed by someone saying something about...a fig? Or was it a wig? It was hard to tell. Moments later, a small girl answered the door. She had tan skin, almond-shaped eyes the color of chocoate, and the longest, healthiest black hair I'd ever seen. She was wearing a red muumuu and sandals.

"_Aloha,_" she said politely. "Can I help you?" I looked at Lilo's family pictures she'd sent me. I compared Lilo in the photos to the girl at the door. They were an exact match!

"Lilo!" I said excitedly.


	3. Meet The Family

Note: The reason I say just the South is because I don't want to specifically say what state I come from. Thank you.

Lilo blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" she asked.

I held the letters out. "I'm your pen pal from the South!" I said.

She examined me carefully, and recognized me from the pictures I had sent. "You ARE Jessica!" she cried. I stooped down, and we hugged like we had been friends forever. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"My family had to move here because of my dad's job," I replied.

"That's great! Come on inside!" Lilo offered, gesturing towards the living room.

"Lilo, who's at the door?" a voice called. A young woman walked in. She had the same skin, hair, and eyes as Lilo, though much older. Early twenties, perhaps. _That must be Nani, _I thought.

"Nani, this is my pen pal, Jessica!" Lilo introduced. "Her family just moved here." Nani smiled and we shook hands.

"_Aloha! _Lilo has been talking so much about you. Make yourself at home!" She turned towards the kitchen. "I just baked some-STITCH!" Lilo and I rushed in, only to see Stitch devouring an entire tray of coconut macaroons, followed by an ear-splitting burp.

"Pardon our…_mischievous _little dog," Nani said, trying not to grimace. I had to laugh.

"So this is the famous Stitch you've told me about, huh?" I asked Lilo.

"Yep!" she answered happily. "He's the greatest dog in the world!" Stitch at that time realized there was company. He hopped down from the counter, sat in a dog-like position, and wagged his stubby blue tail.

"Bark! Bark!" he cried.

"He's cute, too!" I added, and pet his head.

Nani began to scrub the tray in the sink and said casually, "You know, for someone from the South, Jessica, I was expecting you to have an accent."

I shrugged. "My family has it, but I talk out of it, so to speak." I added jokingly, "I feel like I'm the only one who tries not to use 'ain't' in my family." But then I thought how that sounded, and it sounded like my family were hillbillies. I said quickly, "Not that they're uneducated, but they just don't think about it, you know?"

Nani smiled. "I know what you mean."

"THERE'S our little pride and joy!" a high-pitched voice rang out.

"Oh no…" Nani groaned. Suddenly Lilo was scooped into the skinny arms of who I assumed was Aunt Pleakley. She had short black hair, a sunhat (who wears a sunhat on the inside?), a blue muumuu with green leaf print, and white heels. She had what must've been a pound of blush on her cheeks and lipstick so bright you'd need sunglasses to look at it.

Aunt Pleakley hugged Lilo so tightly I thought Lilo's eyeballs would pop out any minute. "Aunt Pleakley…please!" she gasped. "My pen pal is here!" Aunt Pleakley finally let go.

"Oh! Is this the marvelous Jessica we've been hearing about these past weeks?" She turned to me and held out one of her noodle-like hands, which was draped with three different bracelets. "Auntie Pleakley. _Enchante." _She didn't seriously expect me to kiss it, did she?

Instead I just shook it. "Charmed, I'm sure," I said, trying to sound as sophisticated.

"Uncle Jumba!" Aunt Pleakley called. "Hurry! We have a guest!"

Nani must've known something I didn't, because she said, "Umm…I think there's something in the dryer I forgot!" She escaped to the laundry room just as a very large man hurried into the kitchen.

"Wha-where are they?" he asked. He was wearing sunglasses that weren't pushed up all the way on his eyes, a yellow Hawaiian shirt that could've been used as a curtain, a small tan hat, and he had a small red bit of a mustache situated between his nose and mouth.

"Right here, darling!" said Aunt Pleakley, pointing towards me. "This is the Jessica whom Lilo's been writing to! She seems simply fascinating!" I had to blush. I am a modest, shy person, and I get uncomfortable with praise sometimes.

Uncle Jumba smiled at me and stuck out his hand. "How do you do?"

"Just fine," I responded. But when I stuck mine out, I couldn't help but notice the proportions. Uncle Jumba's hand was twice as big as mine. When we did shake hands, I kept thinking, _OH, SWEET MERCY! _It was like shaking hands with a gorilla, and I thought my hand was being crushed.

"So, Jessica, how long will you be staying here on our humble little island?" asked Aunt Pleakley as she poured some lemonade.

"For a long time, I'm assuming," I replied. "This is my new home now."

"Oh, splendid!" she gushed. "You and our little Lilo will make the best of friends!"

"Indeed!" added Uncle Jumba. "Little Girl-I mean, Lilo-is very effusive, sociable, and exuberant girl."

"Uncle Jumba, use words we can all understand," Aunt Pleakley suggested.

"It's okay," I laughed. "I know what he means." I could tell right away Uncle Jumba was an intellectual person, and Aunt Pleakley was…well, at least she's nice… Then I remembered what I'd told my mom. "Oops! I just remembered I had to call my mother when I got here. Excuse me…" I took my cell phone out of my pocket and sat down on the couch in the living room. I went to speed dial, and called my mother's cell phone since I hadn't punched in our new number yet.

"Hello?" she said on the other line.

"Hi Mom, it's me," I said. "I'm at Lilo's, and I've already met her family. They are really interesting."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, sweetie," she said. "You two should get together some time." She didn't have to tell me twice. Being friends with this girl was my first priority. "Can you be home by five?" Mom asked.

"Sure," I replied.

"Okay, I love you, honey. Bye!"

"Bye, Mom." We hung up, and I joined the others back in the kitchen.

"Would you like to join me on my scrapbook tour?" Lilo asked me.

"What's that?"

"My album needs to be filled again, so we need to take pictures around the island!" Lilo explained.

"Awesome! Let's go! I don't have to be home until five."

So Lilo, Stitch, and I headed out the door for our first fun time together. We snapped tons of pictures, but something interesting happened. We had stopped by Lilo's school and snapped some photos, when I noticed four girls the same age as Lilo coming down the street. One of them had red hair and big glasses, and appeared to be the leader. She smirked at Lilo and gestured towards her to the rest of her posse.

"Hey Weirdlo!" she teased. "What-" But then she stopped when she saw me.

"What do you want, Myrtle?" Lilo sighed. Myrtle? Lilo had written that's the girl who made fun of her all the time. I do not care for bullying, so Stitch and I put our guards up to protect Lilo.

"Umm…I, uh…who's your friend?" Myrtle asked timidly.

Lilo glanced at me, then smiled. "This is my pen pal, Jessica. She just moved here, and we're going to be great friends!" I think Myrtle was noticing how much taller (and older) I was compared to her and her friends. She was probably afraid I would beat her up for making fun of Lilo.

"Oh, well…cool! W-we better be leaving. Right, girls?"

"Right!" they said in unison. They walked away very quickly. When they were out of earshot, Lilo and I died laughing.

"Myrtle is terrified of you!" she said happily.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm sure she won't bother you any time soon!" We finished our scrapbook tour, and just as I was about to turn back to go home, the ground shook. "What's that?" I shouted. "An earthquake?" But the shaking seemed to be coming from someone's gigantic footsteps. All of a sudden, a HUGE shark-like creature with a glass container on his back and a gun in his hand burst from the trees!

"Oh my gosh!" I cried. "It's a monster!"

"Oh no, not Gantu…" Lilo groaned to herself.

"Gan-WHO?" I asked.

"Umm…it's no one important," Lilo said quickly. "You might want to go home."

"Oh…okay…bye, I guess." I was wondering why Lilo was so desperate for me to get away from the ugly thing? It was like he was some big secret.

What if he came back? Would I have to leave every time he appeared? Would this jeopardize our friendship? Do I ask too many questions? All of this (except the last one) was whirling in my head like a racecar with no brakes.

For our first dinner in our new home, we had fried potatoes, soup beans (that's our name for pinto beans), and cornbread. That might not sound like much, but where I come from they practically deserve their own food group (along with fried chicken and iced tea, too). I was telling my parents about Lilo and her family, our scrap booking tour, and how I unintentionally scared the pants of Myrtle Edmonds and her friends.

"It sounds like you had a great day!" my mom said. I had to agree on that one, though I was still a little shaken from the 20 foot shark man I had seen (there was NO WAY I'd tell my parents about that).

"When will you see this girl again?" Dad asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "Probably tomorrow."

"Well, you'll have to schedule a time," Mom said, "because you've got school tomorrow." I stopped with a mouth full of beans.

Remembering my manners, I swallowed, then shouted in surprise, "SCHOOL?"

"It'll just be home school," Mom explained. _At least I don't have to go anywhere, _I thought.

That night, I had a dream of Lilo, Stitch, her aunt and uncle, and me at the beach, when all of a sudden the evil shark dude I saw ran from the trees and…to be honest I don't know what happened after that because I woke up. I looked at my alarm clock. **1: 29 **Way too early to be thinking of Shark Man. I slid my sleep mask back over my eyes, rolled onto my left side, and attempted to resume my first night in Kauai.


	4. At the Beach

After breakfast, I decided to call Lilo to see what time we could meet. "I have hula class today," she said, "but I get out at noon."

"My home school session ends at noon, too," I replied. "What will be doing today?"

"How about the beach?" Lilo suggested. Hallelujah! I thought no one would mention it.

"Sounds great!" I said. "Meet you there at twelve!" Then we hung up. My first ever home schooled subject was...algebra. Lovely. (NOT!) But it's a good thing I already knew something about variables on both sides of inequalities, or I probably wouldn't have focused. Why? My mind was too pumped up for noon, of course! At 11:58, the last problem looked like this: **11v + 9 5v - 2 **I thought carefully, my eyes casually glancing at the clock in between. I added the two to both sides, and got **11v + 11 5v. **To isolate the variable, I subtracted 11v on both sides, receiving **11-6v. **All I had to do was divide -6 on both sides and flip the inequality sign, since I'm diving by a negative number. My final answer was negative 11 over 6 is less than v. I got it right, and in the nick of time. I pulled on my one-piece and piled a notebook, pencil, pencil sharpener, and sunblock into a small bag. I put on my sunglasses and told Mom where I was going.

It was a perfect day to go to the beach. That's kind of stupid for me to say, since Hawaii is sunny and hot 95% of the time, but Lilo told me that some days are too hot to go to the beach, so we were lucky today. Needless to say, the beach was crowded. Natives and tourists were sunbathing, surfing, playing volleyball, dropping ice cream (A/N: I'm sure you know who that was. XD), and some even playing music. It was like a human jungle, and I was afraid I would never find Lilo, when all of a sudden I heard someone shout, "Jessica!" I turned, and sure enough, Lilo was standing there with Stitch at her side, waving and smiling. I waved back and joined them.

"Hey, Lilo! How was school?" I hated to sound like a mother, but I was just wanting to know, especially after the run in with Myrtle yesterday.

"It was swell!" said Lilo. She grinned and added, "Myrtle, Elena, Yuki, and Teresa haven't been picking on me after they saw you yesterday. They must have the heebie jeebies!" I assumed Elena, Yuki, and Teresa were Myrtle's posse, and though I wasn't sure if anyone used the term "heebie jeebies" anymore, I was glad Lilo wasn't being teased.

We sat on the beach blanket and built a sandcastle. "Do you always come to the beach with just Stitch?" I inquired.

"Stitch loves the beach," explained Lilo, "but he's not crazy about the ocean except when we surf." A surfing dog. MAN, this girl was cool!

"Well, I mean do you come by yourself all the time?"

"Oh, that. I'm just waiting for my aunt and uncle. They'll be here soon. It takes us a while to go anywhere because Aunt Pleakley takes _forever _to get ready." I laughed. It didn't come to any surprise to me. Suddenly a matter from yesterday popped up in my mind randomly: Shark Man.

"Lilo, do you remember yesterday after your scrapbook thing that ugly dude that popped out?" Lilo's eyes went wide. Then she smiled, like an idea had just come to her.

"Oh, that's Gantu. He's from..Samoa! And he's...a dog catcher! Yeah, and Stitch forgot to wear his collar yesterday." I nodded. That explained everything. I had heard about people getting rickets, which made them really small because it stops their bodies from growing regularly. I guess for Samoans it has the exact opposite effect.

"Isn't the gun a little much, though?" I asked.

Lilo hesitated for a contemplative moment, then replied, "He uses that thing for emphasis. In my opinion, though, he's just a big dummy." We both laughed at that one. Then when Aunt Pleakley and Uncle Jumba showed up, I thought I would laugh again. Aunt Pleakley was wearing a short, clumpy swimming suit that looked like something women wore in the 1900's with a matching bathing cap, and she made Uncle Jumba wear one of those one-piece, red and white striped bathing suits and square straw hats from the same century. They stuck out like sore thumbs amongst the swimming trunks and bikinis as other beachgoers were wearing.

"Lilo, did you remember to put on sunscreen?" Aunt Pleakley asked, toting around a small parasol.

"Oops. No," Lilo answered.

"I brought some!" I offered, and pulled the bottle from my bag. In a minute, Lilo and I were UV-protected. After we finished our sandcastle, Lilo got an idea.

"Do you want to try surfing?" she asked. Oh no. I hadn't thought of her asking me that. I really didn't want to disappoint her, but I was a bit doubtful of trying it. Luckily, Aunt Pleakley saved my hide.

"Now Lilo, dear, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. If Jessica doesn't want to, she doesn't have to." I breathed a sigh of relief; it was like Aunt Pleakley read my mind.

Lilo pulled a few dollars out of her bag Nani had given her that morning, and she turned to me. "Want to get a shaved ice?" Considering the intense heat, I thought it was the best idea I had heard all day.

"Sure!" I said. We went to the nearest shaved ice shack, but I noticed the most peculiar looking person in there. But they weren't really a person, appearance wise. It was a small, blue creature who appeared to be made of ice. It had beady little eyes, a koala-like nose, and couldn't have been over a foot and a half tall. I ordered a lemon ice, and Lilo ordered what she called a Lilo Experiment: pink, blue, and black.

"They're Elvis's favorite colors," she explained. She threw the money on the counter and said, "Thanks, Slushy!" Slushy? Not only did he look like ice, his name reminded you of ice. Maybe he was locked in a freezer and stayed like that. Who knows? But I didn't let it ruin my day at the beach with Lilo and her family. It got wild, though, when Stitch tried to eat a seagull. I guess it didn't taste like chicken, because he spit out. THAT had to be the highlight of my day, because that was the funniest thing ever! As we were about to leave the beach, Lilo asked me, "Hey Jessica, do you think your mother would let you sleep over at my house tonight?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I could ask her, though." I went to a pay phone and put in our new phone number. Then I remembered to deposit a quarter. The phone rang twice, then my mom picked up (Dad was working). "Hey Mom, it's me," I said. "Lilo wants to know if I can spend the night with her."

"As long as it's okay with her parents," she replied.

I hadn't told Mom about the whole parents-killed-in-car-crash story, so I just winced and said, "She's going to ask them." "Well, then we'll see later when we get an answer." "Okay, Mom. Bye." Lilo was waiting eagerly.

"Did she say yes? Did she say yes?" she asked.

"As long as Nani okays it, then we're good," I replied. Luckily, Nani was working at the rental shack, so we decided now would be a good time to ask. Nani wasn't particularly busy at this time, and was talking to a tan, good-looking surfer.

"That's her boyfriend, David," Lilo whispered. "She likes his butt and fancy hair. Believe me. I read her diary." I was a bit concerned with the invasion of privacy thing, but I didn't let it get to me. Nani said yes! So it was settled. At six o'clock I'd join them for dinner, and since it was Friday, Lilo could stay up until eleven. This was going to be great! Little did I know, however, that tonight would reveal more about Lilo than I ever thought possible.

From Author: Sorry for the math lesson, but instead of just saying I solved it, I wanted to put it in detail. Besides, you might have to know it one day. lol :D


	5. Dinner Time

Warning: Stitch has coffee in this chapter! Enough said. Plus, I do not own the TV show mentioned in this chapter and I've never had a Hawaiian-style lasagna. I just came up with it at the last minute.

Yippe! I was going over to Lilo's for dinner _and _a sleepover! As I was packing up my stuff, my mom told me all the basic rule thingamajigs all mothers do before their children go off somewhere.

"Remember, Jessica, when you get there to mind her parents." (Yeah, I know. I still haven't told Mom about the parentless situation going on at Lilo's house, but I'm working on it.)

"Ok, Mom.."

"During dinner, don't ask for anything extra, and I don't care if they serve brains for dinner; be polite and pretend you like it."

"I know, Mom."

"You'll get along nicely with Lilo if you _are _nice." Gee, Mom made me feel like an ogre or something. And of course I want to get along with Lilo. Duh!

"And the most important thing..."

"Brush my teeth."

"Well, besides that, honey, have fun."

"I will, Mom! Love you!" I kissed my mom on the cheek.

"I love you, too! Have fun!"

"I will! Bye!" I kissed my dad on the way out, too, and patted my beagle Lucy on the head (sorry I forgot to mention her before). I went down the same path I had taken to Lilo's yesterday, and on the way guess who I happened to run into? The Brat Pack. That's right; I'm talking about Myrtle Edmonds and her friends. They came right up to me, and one of them handed me an envelope (with quivering hands I must add). "What's this for?" I asked suspiciously.

Myrtle gulped, "Umm...we were wondering i-if you'd give to L-Lilo for us, since you're her friend, we mean.." I cocked an eyebrow up suspiciously.

"Umm...okay. Sure." As I continued my way to Kaleakahana Drive, I was overly curious about what the envelope could possibly hold. I stuffed it into my pocket and trekked up the path to Lilo's house. My heart leaped in excitement at the sight of her house. _I wonder if that dome thing on the roof is her bedroom? _I wondered mentally. I guess I'd found out soon enough. Before I even rang the doorbell, though, I was ambushed by a small blue furball: Stitch. At first I didn't know it was him until I rolled onto my back, and he was grinning and panting, saliva dripping onto the wood, until I thought he was going to start foaming at the mouth. His breath smelled like...coffee? What dog drinks coffee? And just when I thought he was crazy enough, Stitch's tongue goes INTO his nose and he picks it. I was terrified he was going to lick me after that.

"Stitch! No!" Thank goodness Lilo came to my rescue. She pulled Stitch off the ground, and scolded him while I got off the ground. "Sorry about that," she said. "He goes crazy when he gets into the coffee. But he's just happy to see you. Be thankful you're not a mailman." A horrific image of saliva and khaki short pieces flying through the air filled my mind just as Aunt Pleakley came by.

"Jessica, darling! It's so wonderful to see you again!" As she said this, she held my head with her long, skinny fingers, and I was afraid she'd pinch my cheeks. But she didn't, and let me go. "Dinner is almost ready, so you can go up to Lilo's room and unload your things."

When she was out of earshot, Lilo whispered, "You're lucky she doesn't kiss you on the cheek." I gagged silently as I imagined me with a humongous fuchsia lip print on my cheek. THE HORROR. Anyways, Lilo led me into the hall and she gave me a small tour. "That leads into the laundry room," she said, "and that's Nani's room. Up the stairs is Uncle Jumba and Aunt Pleakley's room, and that goes to the bathroom. My uncle just came out of there a few minutes ago, so you probably don't want to go in for a while..." (Note from author: Sorry, I just _had_ to write that. lol XD)

"But where is the door to your bedroom?" I asked. Lilo gestured to a small, circular opening in the wall.

"I take the elevator!" With that, she stepped on a small platform, which lifted her up into a room above. I was amazed. Upstairs, Lilo pressed a button to make it go back down again so I could come up. Her small face appeared in the hole. "Come on up, Jess!" I gulped. I was a lot heavier than Lilo, and I was afraid I might break it. Surprisingly, I had no trouble getting up.

"That is so cool!" I cried.

"Yeah, but Uncle Jumba can't get up here, which is ironic because he's the one that built it." I had a hard time imagining her uncle squeezing onto that teensy platform with his massive build, but it fascinated me he had enough technical know-how to actually built a gadget like that. I'd be afraid to test his IQ. Speaking of her uncle, he just happened to be calling us at that time.

"Little Girl! Dinner is ready! Come on down!" And, no, he didn't say Lilo was the next contestant on _The Price is Right. _LOL

"Your uncle calls you little girl?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just a nickname," Lilo explained.

So Lilo and I piled onto the platform again and descended down to dinner, where Nani, Aunt Pleakley, and Uncle Jumba were already seated. Lilo and I sat at the same side of the table, facing Aunt Pleakley. Uncle Jumba was on our right, and Nani was on our left. Stitch came in at the last minute and seemed surprised there was no room at the table for him. Also, he didn't seem very thrilled when Aunt Pleakley put a bowl of wet dog food in front of him, like when it's still shaped like the can. I think he just wanted the Hawaiian-style lasagna on the table (it's Hawaiian-style because Nani put in bits of pineapple, mango, and taro. It might not sound tasty, but it was actually very good).

Nani started serving slices of the lasagna. "So, Jessica, what school are you attending here?"

"Since my mom worked at a state park back home, she has no current occupation here, so she homeschools me," I replied. Nani nodded knowingly (wow, alliteration again!) Then her eyes widened at Uncle Jumba, who was getting something out that looked like a pen.

"Um, Uncle Jumba, it's not polite to write at the table, remember?" she asked nervously. VERY nervously. It was like he had a poisoned dart in his hand.

Uncle Jumba looked confused for a minute, until he realized what she meant. "Oh yes! Heh, my mistake.." (Note from author: By the way, the "pen" is actually a laser cutter, as seen in the _Belle _episode. Jumba narrowly missed blowing his cover by using it to cut his food.) It didn't seem too suspicious to me, though, and the conversation continued.

"Our Lilo goes to a very nice hula school!" Aunt Pleakley spoke up. "You should see her dance sometimes!" I looked at Lilo, and she smiled modestly.

"I guess I'm pretty good," she replied.

"_Pretty _good? Why, you're _marvelous, _darling!" Aunt Pleakley gushed. "Of course, there was that time at home when your skirt got caught in the va-"

"OKAY, Aunt Pleakley," Nani cautioned, trying to keep her smile. "Let's not embarrass Lilo in front of her friend..." The way she put it, I presumed Lilo didn't have friends over often.

Uncle Jumba said (with a mouth full of food),"Ah, but is very entertaining story, and-" Nani gave him a vicious glare, silencing him. Lilo had gone without having a real human friend for too long, and her "aunt" and "uncle" were NOT going to ruin it for her. The mention of Lilo's school reminded me of the envelope residing in my pocket.

"Ooh, that reminds me," I said. "Lilo, those girls at your school stopped me on the way over here."

"Oh boy, what did they say?" Lilo half-groaned.

"They wanted me to give you something," I replied, pulling the envelope out of my pocket. I placed it in Lilo's small hands, and she opened it. I almost laughed, because the look on Lilo's face was like a hillbilly trying to read hieroglyphics. "What does it say?" I asked.

"Myrtle, Yuki, Elena, and Teresa want to invite me to a tea party after school on Tuesday," Lilo said slowly, not taking her eyes off of the paper.

Nani stopped with her fork about three inches from her mouth. "Those girls at your _school _are inviting you to do something with them?" she inquired in suprise. Lilo nodded, then grinned like an evil scientist.

"But they're just being nice so Jessica won't kick their butts for me." I almost choked.

"I didn't say I would, though!" I said quickly. I didn't want to get in bad spirits with Nani or her aunt and uncle for threatening four little girls. Luckily, they got my message.

"Is too bad," said Uncle Jumba. "Would be good fun to see evil girls getting tasting of their own medication!" Aunt Pleakley looked at him with an appalled look.

"_FUN?_" she exclaimed.

Uncle Jumba grinned, "I didn't say it was fun for them!" That did it. Lilo and I started to burst out laughing at the thought, until Nani gave us a questioning look and we settled down.

"Don't think you're 100% off the hook for the pudding battle in the bathroom," Nani warned Lilo.

"Hey, Stitch started it!" Lilo protested. "Besides, we cleaned it up...most of it, anyways." I had to grin. This family got more interesting by the minute. But the big secret was soon to come that night.


	6. A Startling Discovery

Note: An anonymous reviewer named PachySam suggested I meet the Grand Councilwoman in this chapter. However, I think that would make things a bit abrupt, if you know what I mean. I'd rather let my character find out about Lilo's contact with aliens one at a time. But I want to congratulate them on a very well-thought out idea anyways.

After dinner, Lilo and I helped Nani and Aunt Pleakley with the dishes. The sun was already going down, so Lilo and I went upstairs to change into our pajamas. Before we did, Nani asked Lilo, "Lilo, do you remember what tonight is?" Lilo looked at the calendar.

"Friday?"

"Uh-huh. And you know what _that _means?"

"I get to stay up until eleven?"

"Besides that." Lilo thought, then she and Nani looked at Stitch. Stitch got suspicious from them staring at him so innocently, then he knew what it was. He darted out of the kitchen into the living room and dived under the couch.

"Friday is when he gets a b-a-t-h," Lilo explained to me. "Let's get started! Go get the n-e-t from the hall closet, and I'll find some s-o-a-p." As I was wondering how n-e-t would clean Stitch, I obediently went to the closet and pulled out a net, and as I went back to the living room, I wondered why they had net in their hall closet in the first place. I guess her uncle fishes a lot.

"What's the plan?" I whispered.

"Get ready to capture him in the net at any time. I'm chase him towards you!" I had a bad feeling about this, but I didn't say so. I crouched into proper springing position. I could hear Lilo's voice say," Oh, _Sti-itch..._come on out..."

Stitch made a sound that sounded like, "Naga!" What made it really weird is that it sounded like he really SAID it, although since he's a dog, I know that would be impossible. But anyways, I heard some scrambling sounds, Lilo screamed, and then Stitch darted in front of me. I leaped forward to try and capture him...but instead I accidentally flattened Lilo. Given the fact I am a LOT taller than her (and a little fatter), it couldn't have felt good.

"Ohmigosh, Lilo! I'm sorry!" I said quickly.

"You're fine," she said getting up, "but we still have to grab Stitch! Let's go!" We ran into the kitchen, and scoured the room. "Check the cabinets," whispered Lilo. We searched each one.

No Stitch. "I don't see him anywhere," I said. Then we heard a banging sound from the freezer. I opened the door, and out popped Stitch, frozen in a block of ice.

"Silly Stitch," Lilo laughed. "Let's go get the hairdryer." We borrowed Nani's hairdryer, and slowly began to thaw out poor Stitch.

"Hey, how did he get in the freezer, anyway?" I asked. Lilo was silent for a minute, like she was afraid to answer.

"Umm...he gets into everything," she explained. "He's a... _very _special dog." My beagle, Lucy, was lucky if she could jump onto the couch or bed, much less climb into our freezer. Like I said, this family was interesting. Uncle Jumba came into the bathroom at that time.

"What has happened to 6-I mean, Stitch?" he asked.

"He locked himself in the freezer to avoid getting a bath," I answered. He chuckled.

"Typical Stitch. He does not like water." A dog that hates water? Usually it was cats that didn't like it. Finally, Stitch unthawed completely, and fell into the tub that was filled with the melted ice. He flailed around, terrified, like he was about to drown.

"Stand up, silly," giggled Lilo. "It's only knee deep!" Stitch stood on two legs, and realized she was right. "Well, now that we've got you in the tub, let's get started!" Stitch made a noise like a groan as we began to scrub him down with soap. Pretty soon, we dried his fur with the same hairdryer and he turned into a big puff of blue fur. Lilo and I both laughed, making him growl. He hopped down from the counter and stormed out.

"Your dog has anger issues," I joked. Then I thought, _What AM I saying? _It sounded weird, but Lilo just smiled. We finally went up to her room and changed into our pajamas. She gave me a small tour of everything in it, including her Elvis record collection, her antique hula lamp, and her homemade doll.

"This is Scrump!" she declared proudly. The doll was green with buttons for eyes, a sewed mouth, a pink bow with pipe cleaners for hair, and an abnormally large head. But considering how young Lilo was, it was very creative. I told her so, and she beamed. Then she strolled over to her record player and pulled out a record. "Wanna listen to The King?" she asked.

"You betcha!" I said. She put the needle on the record, and soon _Jailhouse Rock _started playing. Lilo turned the music on full blast, and we started bopping around happily. One look and you would've thought we had known each other for years (although considering Lilo's age, that wouldn't be very long) and not just for a few weeks, including the pen pal letters. All of a sudden I pulled my pillow out from my sleeping bag and launched it across the room at Lilo. She giggled and pulled a pillow from what she had said was Stitch's bed earlier. Before I could wonder why she didn't use her own (I found out later she kept the picture of her parents underneath her pillow), WHACK! She pelted it at my gut.

Soon, a full-out pillow war ensued. We were laughing and running around, and add that with Elvis going on at max volume, we must've been a real nuisance downstairs, because a few minutes later, Aunt Pleakley and Uncle Jumba came up into the room.

"Girls, stop this-OOF!" Out of nowhere, a surprise attack pillow flew across the room and bopped Aunt Pleakley in the head, knocking her down. Just as Uncle Jumba started laughing at her, a different pillow flung across the room and knocked him down as well. Lilo hurriedly turned off the music and we stood over them to examine them.

"Aunt Pleakley, are you alright?" I asked.

"Oh yes, I'm quite alright.." she said, weakly pulling herself up. Then Lilo and I gasped simultaneously. The pillow had accidentally knocked off Aunt Pleakley's wig. It wasn't so much losing the wig itself that freaked me out, but what was underneath: AN ANTENNAE! Just as I witnessed _that _shocking discovery, I also found out about Uncle Jumba, besides the fact his mustache was a fake, he had **four eyes**! I just stood there with my mouth gaped open like a gargoyle, unable to make any intelligible sound or action, and for a moment I thought I'd spend the rest of my life in that spot. "What? What's wrong?" asked Aunt Pleakley, and saw the wig on the floor. They (I say "they" because at this point I was unaware of Aunt Pleakley's gender) yelped and quickly stuffed the wig back on their head _backwards. _After looking like Cousin Itt for a split second, they turned it around the other way with a sheepish look.

"Is too late, Pleakley," Uncle Jumba grumbled. "She knows now."

"Knows _what?_" I said finally. I looked at Lilo in a questioning way.

Lilo sighed, "There's something I haven't told you..."


	7. The Truth

Note: Sorry for my error in Chapters Five and Six. Until I saw "Remmy," I didn't know Jumba could get on the elevator to Lilo's room. I saw the episode between making the two chapters, so please excuse this error. I can't change it yet because the original document was deleted. Also, this is sadly the last chapter of It Started With a Letter, but I had a lot of fun creating it and I thank you all for your support and positive feedback. Perhaps one day I'll create some subsequels. Finally, the some of the breakfast part is based off "Poxy" THANK YOU! :D

Lilo, Stitch, "Uncle" Jumba, "Aunt" Pleakley, and I went downstairs to the living room. Nani was sitting on the couch reading. By looking at our faces, she could tell something bad had happened. "Okay, what happened?" she asked suspiciously.

Lilo looked up seriously. "Jessica knows, Nani."

"Knows what?" She glanced at Jumba and Pleakley, whose disguises had been blown. "_Oh_. Oh no..." Lilo nodded and climbed onto the couch. This was all confusing to me, and I was starting to get impatient.

"What is it that I know, Lilo?" I asked, a trace of that impatience rising. Lilo sighed again.

"Promise not to tell anyone else?" she said. I was starting to feel afraid, but I promised anyways. Then Lilo began, "Long before you moved here, it was just me and Nani living here. In fact, our house didn't look like this then. But then we decided to adopt Stitch from the local pound. We thought he was a dog, but when Jumba and Pleakley showed up to take him back to space, we found out the truth." The word that hit me the most was "back to space".

"Y-you mean...Stitch is really..." I stammered. Stitch revealed his extra arms, antennae, and sickles on his back. My mouth gaped again. I couldn't believe Stitch was an ALIEN!

"Stitch is an illegal genetic experiment from outer space!" Lilo declared, almost proudly.

"Experiment? What kind of crazed, wicked mind created him?" I cried. Everyone in the room looked at Jumba, who shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

He chuckled, "That would be my creation. Doctor Jumba Jookiba, former leading scientist of Galactic Defense Industries."

"Oh my Lord, you're like an extraterrestial Frankenstein!" I said, referring to the scientist, not the monster. Jumba grinned wildly. He seemed very proud.

Lilo continued, "Pleakley came along with him because he was an expert on this planet, and now we're all a big _ohana._"

I nodded, but then I asked, "So what's with the wig?"

Pleakley looked sheepishly at the hairpiece in his hands. "It's a disguise." I had to admit that made sense. For a brief moment I just let all that I heard sink in.

Lilo became worried at my silence. "You okay, Jessica?" she asked timidly.

I looked at her. "I'm fine, Lilo...I just can't believe all this. It doesn't feel like this should be real..." Something occured to me. "Lilo, you're not afraid I don't want to be your friend because of any of this, are you?" She looked down at her hands and nodded. I sat her on my lap like Nani might've done if I wasn't sitting between the two of them. "Oh Lilo! Even if you were an alien yourself and you had five heads I'd still want to be your friend!"

Lilo looked surprised. "Really?"

I smiled, "Of course! I like you for who you are, Lilo. You're funny, caring, fun to be around, and you have a great family that loves you with all their heart! I don't think you're weird at all, and I'd really like to be your best friend."

Lilo smiled. "Thanks, Jessica. The only reason I tell you-besides our cover's already blown-is because you're a trusted friend." I smiled and we hugged. Then she gasped, as if remembering something. "Now that she knows, she can help us catch the rest of the Stitch's cousins!" My eyes widened.

"There's MORE?" I cried. Lilo nodded.

"Just over 600," she added.

"WOAH!" I looked over at Jumba. "You really had a lot of time on your hands, didn't you?" He looked innocently up at the ceiling.

"You might be saying that," he answered, trying to hide a grin.

Lilo continued, "Remember when we got snow cones earlier today? That was one of the cousins." Ahh, alien invasion. _That_ explained Slushy's looks. "Gantu is an alien, too. He tries to capture all of them, so he's still a big dummy." We laughed at that. "Would you be interested in helping?"

I pretended to think about it. "Hmmm...I don't know. I'll have to-ARE YOU KIDDING? OF COURSE I'LL HELP!" That made us all laugh.

...

The next morning, we were having breakfast in the kitchen. Pleakley, who was unwigged, was having a bowl of cereal.

"Why is he eating it with a fork?" I whispered to Lilo. She shrugged, and we both giggled. But when Nani was pouring water to make batter for pancakes, there was a bright ball of light that filled the room.

Lilo grinned, "Jessica, get ready to go on your first experiment catching job!"

And that is how I became a new member of Kauai's best kick-butt experimenting-catching team, making some new friends along the way.

The end.


End file.
